Rescuers dig through the rubble on Tuesday to find survivors of a powerful earthquake that toppled homes and buildings in a highly populated area of Indonesia’s West Java province, killing at least 268 people.
Another 151 people remain missing and more than 1,000 were injured, the country’s National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) said.
The 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck the Cianjur region of western Java around 1:21 pm local time on Monday at a depth of 10 kilometers, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) , causing buildings to collapse while school classes were in progress.
The scale of death and destruction wrought by the quake became increasingly clear on Tuesday after authorities reported earlier discrepancies in the death toll.
More than 22,000 homes have been destroyed and more than 58,000 people have been displaced, BNPB Major General Suharyanto said on Tuesday.
Photos showed buildings reduced to rubble, with bricks and pieces of broken metal littering the streets.
“Most of those who died were children,” West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil told reporters on Monday, adding that the death toll was likely to rise further. “So many incidents took place in various Islamic schools.”
Strong tremors forced children to flee their classrooms, according to aid group Save the Children, which said more than 50 schools were affected.
Mia Saharosa, a teacher at one of the affected schools, said the earthquake “was a shock to all of us”, according to the group.
“We all gathered in the field, the children were terrified and crying, worried about their families back home,” Saharosa said. “We hugged each other, strengthened each other, and continued to pray.”
Herman Suherman, a government official in Cianjur, told the media that some residents were trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings. Metro TV news channel showed what appeared to be hundreds of victims being treated in a hospital parking lot.
Indonesia’s meteorological department, the BMKG, warned of the danger of landslides, especially in case of heavy rain, as 25 aftershocks were recorded in the first two hours after the quake.
Rescue teams were unable to immediately reach some of those trapped, he said, adding that the situation remained chaotic.
Government authorities are building tents and shelters for the victims while meeting their basic needs.
Indonesia sits on the “Ring of Fire,” a band around the Pacific Ocean that triggers frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity. One of the most seismically active zones on the planet, it stretches from Japan and Indonesia on one side of the Pacific to California and South America on the other.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
